1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a lock, in particular a mortise lock for a door. Said lock comprises a locking cylinder that can in particular be inserted into a door leaf and a shaft consisting of two sections, each section of said shaft having a handle at the end, preferably a rotary knob or a standard door handle, and being actively interconnected by means of a coupling after recognition of an authorisation code.
2. Description of Related Art
Locks of this kind are known from prior art. They are built into door leafs particularly in the entrance door area, the opening and closing of the door, i.e. the movement of a catch bolt being accomplished via the shaft. To this end, said shaft includes an outside door handle, in particular a freely rotatable rotary knob that allows the catch bolt to be actuated only upon prior verification of an authorisation code through the locking cylinder. On the inside of the door there is also provided a handle, in particular a rotary knob. But this handle always serves for opening the door, even without verification of the authorisation code for actuation of the catch bolt. This makes sure that a door which is constructed in this way can always be opened from inside a building, whereas access to the building is possible only if an appropriate authorisation code has been entered before, which authorisation code produces the active interconnection between said outside door handle and said catch bolt. Said authorisation code may be entered mechanically or electronically. For example, the authorisation code can be the locking secret of a conventional key. On the other hand, it is possible to communicate the authorisation code via a keyboard or in a wireless fashion, for example through radio communication.
From DE 199 16 791 C1 a lock is known which can be designed as a mortise lock for a door. This lock includes a shaft which is subdivided in two sections, each of which having a handle, and the catch bolt of the lock being operable through a section of said shaft. To this end, a coupling is provided in the door outside area, which coupling actively interconnects the outside section of the shaft in said door with the inside section of the shaft in said door after recognition of an authorisation code. However, a considerable drawback can already be recognized here in as much as said coupling is arranged in the region of the outside section of the shaft, so that it may possibly be easily accessed and manipulated. Another drawback of this known lock is that doors of different thickness require the use of locking cylinders of a different length, which locking cylinders are normally penetrated by said shaft.
Further known from DE 198 24 713 A1 is a locking cylinder having a housing and a locking member supported for rotation within said housing. Said locking member is connected to a driving shaft that is divided in two sections that can be actively interconnected by means of a coupling. Said coupling is formed as a solenoid and is activated by a control electronic in dependence of an access authorisation.